Nuisance Abatement Archives

On behalf of Shazam Kianpour of Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C. posted in Nuisance Abatement on Wednesday, January 22, 2014.

If you drive a car in the City of Denver, be careful. One minute you could be driving down Broadway looking around Civic Center Park and the next thing you know your car could be impounded. Want your car back? Sure, says the City of Denver. They'll be happy to give it back to you so long as you provide the city thousands of your hard earned dollars. This controversial Denver ordinance is called "nuisance abatement" (sometimes mistakenly called Nuisance and Abatement) and it has cost the citizens of Denver millions of dollars over the past few years. The theory behind this ordinance is that the City of Denver is trying to deny "criminals" the use of real or personal property that may further criminal activity, i.e. your car. A public nuisance is defined as any real property or vehicle where criminal activity occurs. This is a civil action; meaning proof beyond a reasonable doubt is not necessary. To make matters worse, innocence is NOT a factor. In the policy statement of the ordinance "The remedies provided...are directed at the property involved without regard to...innocence of those who hold (rights to the property). And "it shall be unlawful for any owner to...fail to prevent, or otherwise let happen, any Class One Nuisance on any property in which they hold any legal interest." That means even if your case is dismissed the city will still try to make you pay thousands of dollars in the attempt to get your vehicle back. So just what reason can the City of Denver take your car?

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